A woman with a condition that leaves her in constant pain is unhappy at the way Sainsbury’s Chester handled an evacuation after the smoke alarm activated.

Moira Owens, 49, was shopping in the Boughton store on Tuesday (April 5) when the alarm sounded just after 8.30am because, ironically, a motor had overheated in the pump room for the sprinkler system, triggering a call-out from Chester Fire Station.

Initially an intermittent pre-alarm sounded alerting staff there may be a problem that needed investigating before the tone changed to indicate a genuine incident.

But Mrs Owens, who cannot walk fast because of her fibromyalgia, described a confusing situation and claims that when the main alarm sounded there was just one manager trying to get everybody out.

The Sainsbury's store at Great Boughton in Chester. Picture courtesy of Geograph

She said: “Is it really reliant on one person to get everybody out? To me the staff should have jumped into action.”

A former teaching assistant, Mrs Owens, from Greenfield Crescent, Waverton, said shopping was a major task because of her joint and muscle problems. She usually walks with a stick but had left this in her car as the trolley provides sufficient support.

As she exited the building, Mrs Owens arranged to leave the shopping she had gathered by the till to collect on being allowed back in. She was told the store was likely to reopen after about an hour but when she returned 15 minutes later the store was operational again. However, her shopping had been taken away to be put back on the shelves.

Mrs Owen informed staff she was partially disabled and accepts they may have been stressed but felt there was insufficient compassion for how the incident had affected her.

She added: “I felt I was just an annoyance. I didn’t feel they were caring towards me as a customer. I feel they need to be accountable for how they behaved.”

Mrs Owens, a family woman whose husband works at Capenhurst, had always taken her health for granted until fibromyalgia struck about two years ago and she was forced to stop working. Pain levels go up and down and stressful situations cause flare ups.

Staff and customers wait to be let back into the Sainsbury's store during Tuesday's evacuation. (Image: Moira Owens)

Sainsbury’s spokeswoman Joanna Clark said: “Our colleagues are on hand to help customers with any aspect of their shop and we’ve apologised for the misunderstanding, as well as any distress caused.”

The Chronicle understands the supermarket has offered to complete the customer’s shop online and deliver it free of charge.

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service was alerted at 8.45am and everyone was outside by the time they arrived.

Firefighters, who were wearing breathing apparatus, entered the room containing the overheated auxiliary pump where the smoke had been contained behind a closed door. They used a thermal imaging camera to locate the hotspot. No water was used but the electrics were isolated.

Watch manager Ritchie Gerrard of Chester Fire Station said Sainsbury’s called an engineer to fix the problem. He was satisfied the correct evacuation procedure had been followed despite the concerns.